


The Roads of the World

by celli



Series: Sergeant Dean Winchester [1]
Category: Smallville, Stargate SG-1., Stargate: Atlantis, Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, BYOSubtext, Crossover, Gen, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-04-27
Updated: 2006-04-27
Packaged: 2017-10-22 18:05:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/240979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celli/pseuds/celli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester brought his own ghost stories to the Pegasus Galaxy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Roads of the World

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers: Through SGA episode 2.3, "The Runner." AU before the pilot of Supernatural, but contains general premise spoilers. No major spoilers for the other two.
> 
> Written for my four year anniversary on livejournal, which is why the four fandoms. :) Thanks to [](http://deannie.livejournal.com/profile)[**deannie**](http://deannie.livejournal.com/) for reading it along the way, to [](http://seperis.livejournal.com/profile)[**seperis**](http://seperis.livejournal.com/) for the beta, to [](http://lastscorpion.livejournal.com/profile)[**lastscorpion**](http://lastscorpion.livejournal.com/) for suggesting the fourth member of Major Lorne's team, and to [](http://hyperfocused.livejournal.com/profile)[**hyperfocused**](http://hyperfocused.livejournal.com/) for the canon checking. Title from the song "What I Make Myself Believe" by [Lowen & Navarro](http://lownav.com/).

_"Dad," Dean said, his voice ringing oddly in his ears - maybe that was the shot he was still hearing. "Dad, I'll keep going, I swear, I'll find--"_

 _"No."_

***

"Goddammit, Winchester, this is a spaceship, not a Chevy. Watch what you're doing."

"Chill, Fordham," Dean said over his shoulder, ignoring the choked noise from the passenger seat. "I'm not going to fly into anything."

"If you flew into a moon, everyone back on base would just say, oh, that fuckin' Winchester, we saw it coming." Fordham's grin turned evil. "Hey, I bet there's a pool going somewhere on when and how weirdly you die. Gotta get in on that."

"I bet there's another one on how long it'll take before you can wedge your head all the way up a certain officer's a--"

"Sergeants." Lorne's voice was mild enough, but Dean and Fordham both shut it. Dean kept his posture relaxed, though, and his hands casual on the controls. He looked to the side, where Parrish's hand couldn't possibly grab the side of his chair any harder. He waited for Parrish to look sideways at him, then grinned and winked.

"Please watch the...the sky, please, Sergeant Winchester," Parrish said.

***

 _"Mr. Winchester, I'll be honest with you. There's nothing in your record preventing you from enlisting in the Corps."_

 _Dean smiled at the recruiter. It was good to have connections._

 _"But there's nothing to tell me why you're here, either."_

 _"I told you, my dad--"_

 _"Yes, I know your father was a Marine. But a commitment like this has to be based on more than--"_

 _"No, it doesn't." Dean leaned forward, projecting an intensity he usually saved for situations requiring a shotgun or a condom. "I'm committed, you have no idea how committed. I can do this. I want to. Sir."_

***

Dean had learned to think of Parrish as a botanist plus--when he could be dragged away from leaves and lichen, he had a passing understanding of most other sciences and a good grasp of Ancient. Dean spent a lot of time shadowing him while he gathered information for the scientists back in the city to study.

"...this kind of ivy should require at least three times the sunlight to flourish like this. I don't understand--"

"Focus, Doctor P," Dean said, hooking two fingers in Parrish's pack and pulling him back onto the path. "We're here for ruins, not ivy. And for all you know, this place has--I don't know, super UV rays. Or radioactive spiders. Or something."

Parrish actually looked more interested by that, because he was a freak, but Dean got them pointed back in the right direction.

Two miles and three "fascinating" green things later, Dean's radio crackled. "Status report, Sgt. Winchester?"

"Peachy keen," Dean said for the fun of listening to the Major grind his teeth. "According to the--" he made airquotes with his free hand-- "'map,' we're about two-thirds of the way to the ruins. It's very...green. I think Dr. Parrish is considering a summer home here."

"Noted."

"How are the negotiations?"

"So far, so good. Sgt. Fordham is quite, uh, popular."

"Is that so?" Dean was working on a highly improper response to that, one involving suggestive comments about the nature of Fordham's popularity, when the ground vanished from underneath him.

***

 _Fuckin' A, Winchester! We have to be up in three hours."_

 _"What? Christ. Nightmare. Fuck."_

 _"I don't give a shit. If you're going to scream like a girl, you can sleep outside."_

***

"Ah, hell," Dean said when Ronon dropped down into the cave. "They called for backup? I told them I was working on it."

Ronon looked at Dr. Parrish, unconscious in the corner farthest from the falling rock, and at Dean, who, okay, had one arm wrapped up in a sling, but he was fine. "What?" Dean asked.

Ronon just shook his head at him and tapped his radio. "I'm in...understood." He dropped a pack almost as big as he was on the ground and started going through it. "It'll be a few hours. They have to work around the parts that are falling in."

"They could have told me that without making you come down here."

Ronon tossed something at Dean, who let his gun fall to his side and grabbed an MRE out of the air.

"Bandages, too," Ronon said.

"I love you, man," Dean said with a grin.

***

 _"Winchester?"_

 _Dean finished his pull-up and dropped to the ground. "Speaking." He looked at the man approaching him and straightened up a bit. "Sir."_

 _"I'm Brigadier General Jack O'Neill." O'Neill looked around the gym. "I thought your physical eval was over an hour ago."_

 _"Yes, sir." His right arm still ached where they'd drawn a million vials of blood that morning._

 _"I saw you on the range today. That's some damn impressive shooting, even for a Marine."_

 _"I had lots of experience. Uh, hunting with my dad."_

 _"Hunting." Dean stood up a little straighter under O'Neill's look. "Right. Hunting. Well, you must have learned a lot from your dad, because your CO says you keep your cool under fire as well as any ten-year vet he's ever known."_

 _"Thank you, sir."_

 _O'Neill jammed his hands in his uniform pockets and leaned back. "He also says your attitude problem's going to get you shot in the ass by your own men someday."_

 _"If he says so, sir."_

 _"He does. At length. You don't play well with other children, do you, Winchester?"_

 _Man, you shaved words in one guy's back hair while he was passed out, and your reputation was ruined. "I guess not. I'm not much for the rah-rah teamwork hero bullshit."_

 _"Then why are you here?"_

 _"To shoot the people you tell me to shoot, sir. And occasionally to blow shit up."_

 _"I see. And do you care where, exactly, you do those things?"_

 _"No, sir."_

 _Dean had never seen a general grin before._

***

"I want some marshmallows," Dean said, moving a little closer to the fire. "At my next cave-in, I'm definitely ordering marshmallows."

"Yuck," Parrish said faintly.

Dean leaned over for a quick visual check: Parrish was as close to the fire as he could safely get him, lying as comfortably as possible on the emptied pack, and if his confused expression was any indication, badly concussed. "I bet you get Jell-O," Dean said.

"Yuck."

"Marshmallows?" Ronon asked.

"Traditional Earth delicacy." Dean watched Ronon rip his third MRE open with his teeth. "You'd like them. It's not a campfire without marshmallows."

"Colonel Sheppard says it's not a campfire without ghost stories."

"Yeah?" Dean pulled his knife out of his thigh holster and dug around in the pockets of his fatigues for his whetstone. "He know any good ones?"

"They're okay." Ronon smirked. "Dr. McKay was scared."

"Whatever."

He finished sharpening his already-sharp knife, holding the stone awkwardly thanks to the sling. Ronon raised an inquiring eyebrow, and Dean handed the whetstone over.

"You know any ghost stories?" Ronon's knife sang across the stone.

"Heard a few."

"They any good?"

Dean shrugged one shoulder. "I bet they'd scare Dr. McKay."

"Why? He's seen the Wraith."

"Well, the Wraith are pretty fucking scary, don't get me wrong." Dean found a mostly-clean cloth in one of his pockets and started wiping the dust from the fall off his P-90. "But the things I've--heard about are different. Wraith don't look human. They don't act human. They don't wear the face of somebody you loved while they kill you."

Ronon was quiet for a minute. "They still kill you, though," he said finally.

"I know."

"You're not going to tell any ghost stories, are you?" Parrish asked groggily. "I'm only kind of conscious, and you'll give me nightmares."

"No, Doctor P," Dean said. "I'm not going to tell you ghost stories."

***

 _"Can I help you?"_

 _Dean pulled his duffel out of the Impala's trunk and slammed it shut. "Hey there. You must be Jessica."_

 _"And you must be Dean."_

 _Dean threw his arms wide. "I must be."_

 _She came the rest of the way outside, one hand cupped protectively over her very pregnant stomach. "Sam's not here. He's at law review."_

 _Dean stopped short. "Oh."_

 _"He'll be back by ten."_

 _"I can't stay." Dean jerked a thumb back toward the street, where a black car was idling. "My ride's waiting. They just let me swing by to drop off the car."_

 _"The car?"_

 _He'd thought out this part. "I have an overseas assignment, and the car just sat there in storage last time I was gone. I thought Sam could take care of it for me. Tell him I left some of my dad's stuff in the trunk for him in case he needs it."_

 _She looked confused, but nodded._

 _"I...I have to go."_

 _Jessica took a step forward. Dean hugged her tentatively. "I'll tell Sam you said goodbye," she said._

 _"Thank you." He patted her stomach. "Take care of that baby, okay? And tell my brother to take care of you."_

 _He climbed in the car. "You want to wait?" the driver asked._

 _Dean leaned back in the seat. "I'm good. Let's go."_


End file.
